Last week I randomly discovered Noisette Academy’s lovely site while trying to find cute social media buttons for my sidebar. Though founder @Isa Maria had me at Pantone, I was delighted (and impressed) to see all @NoisetteAcademy does to help creative business owners—mentoring, classes and quite a few free downloads.

I’m jumping on the March is Grow Your Business Month bandwagon. I may personalize that into March is Market Your Business Month—using Noisette’s adorable and downloadable Creative Business Growth Planner, of course.

Not to detract from the Academy’s e-courses and mentoring, but I think every freelance writer, creator and curator can learn a lot about online marketing just by visiting this site. My big takeaway was…

Great design can act as a multiplier for all your other marketing techniques. 

Take Noisette’s social media buttons. They aren’t just functional; they’re designed. The Pantone tie-in is industry-relevant and will appeal to design geeks. On their website, Noisette’s use of color and their whimsical aesthetic makes them seem fun, friendly, approachable and trust-worthy—all the qualities I would want in a mentor or marketing consultant. I also love all the free virtual swag like the Noisette badge above. What a great way to make it easy for people to add color to their websites… while linking back to your blog.

Image by Noisette Marketing